Blackberry Spice Hand Pies
Use premade pie dough to make these irresistible, subtly spiced blackberry hand pies
Recipe series
Blackberry Spice Hand Pies
Use premade pie dough to make these irresistible, subtly spiced blackberry hand pies
By using premade pie dough, making these (mostly) homemade fruit hand pies is a breeze. The real star of this treat is the lightly spiced blackberry filling, made with fresh or frozen berries, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. To make these extra fun, top with a glossy vanilla icing and sprinkles.
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 min
- Yield: 12-14 hand pies
Ingredients
For the pies:
- 1 pint (6 ounces) blackberries (can also use frozen blackberries)
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 packages refrigerated pie crust (4 pie crusts total), at room temperature
- 1 egg, beaten
For the icing (optional):
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (preferably clear)
- Dash of salt
Directions
- Make the filling. In a medium saucepan, stir together the blackberries, water, sugar, salt, and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Let the mixture boil for a few minutes, continuing to stir occasionally, until blackberries are breaking down and soft when pressed with a spoon.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Make a slurry by dissolving the cornstarch in the lemon juice. Add the slurry and the butter to the blackberries and cook for about 4 additional minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.
- Remove the blackberry filling from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. The filling will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- While the filling cools, roll out the four pie dough rounds to about a ¼ inch thickness. You want to err on the side of having a thinner dough, but not so thin that it becomes flimsy. Cut 3-inch x 4-inch rectangles out of the dough sheets. You should be able to get about six or seven rectangles from each sheet of dough. Knead together and roll out any scraps to use as much of the dough as possible.
- Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place six or seven rectangles on each sheet, with about an inch of space between them. Put 1 tablespoon of the cooled blackberry filling in the middle of each rectangle.
- Using your finger or a pastry brush, wet the edges of the rectangles with the egg wash. Place another rectangle of dough on top of each and lightly press the edges together to seal. You can also use a fork to seal and crimp the edges.
- Make a small slit or poke the hand pies a couple times with a fork to allow steam to escape while baking. Brush the tops of the pies with more egg wash.
- Bake the hand pies for 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
- While the pies cool, make the icing. In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until well mixed and glossy.
- Use a spoon to drizzle or spread icing on the cooled pies. Top with sprinkles if desired. The icing will harden a bit as it sits. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to two days.
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